Tag: challenge

Real-Time Narrated Painting Tutorials – YouTube Experiment Results | Liron Yanconsky’s Podcast – Episode 60

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Hi there, Liron again here! Today I want to share with you my recent YouTube experiment – posting only real-time narrated painting tutorials – and talk about the results.

Let’s get going!

YouTube Experiment

Over the last few months, many viewers mentioned how what they are missing are full painting tutorials. Meaning – they didn’t want time-lapse vids. They wanted to hear my thoughts as I painted.

Following these requests, I decided to give this a try for six videos, which are two weeks.

This means that for the past two weeks, I’ve been only posting longer (40+ minutes) tutorials.

Feedback I Got

The vast majority of feedback was very positive. People were commenting how hearing my thought process is really useful, and how real-time allows them to follow along the action.

On the other hand, there were probably one or two comments saying how the videos are too long, and how they preferred shorter vids.

Results on YouTube

This is more about my YouTube analytics. I noticed several interesting things here.

First, one of the videos has done really well, gaining over 10K views. This is a lot for me, as I average at around 2K views, I would say.

Aside from that one, two other videos show some promise, and will perhaps gain more views with time.

I did see an immediate increase in watch time, which makes sense – as I was posting much longer videos.

But with that, there were also more views in general. This could be attributed to the 10K views video, but I’m not sure about that.

Also, I did notice an increase in subscribers growth, which was very slow for a while now. I averaged for a while around 40-50 new subs a day, and then increase temporarily moved the average to around 70, with the peak at 100+.

These are great results.

YouTube Channel Future Direction

My main insight from this experience was that I MYSELF am interested in variety. After such a long time period of posting only these longer videos, I started craving making shorter videos.

Another insight was that you can’t please everyone, which is 100% okay. So I might as well do what interests me.

My plan is to now incorporate what I learned over the last two weeks into my routine. We’ll go back to the normal series (The Paint Show, Painting Masters), but I’ll also try and do at least 1-2 full processes every two weeks.

Conclusion

I hope this experiment pushed the needle a little more in the direction of me improving as an artist and a teacher. And I’ll keep you updated on future experiments and new ideas I get.

And now, it’s time for today’s Artist Corner!

Artist Corner

In this episode I talked about Jasmine Huang, an incredible Taiwanese watercolor painter.

Her paintings have a beautiful realistic vibe to them. She uses a very unique color palette and is very well-versed in wet-in-wet.

Coincidentally, she is also the wife of Chien Chung Wei, who I featured in a recent episode of Painting Masters. I believe I will dedicate an episode to her as well (:

The best place to check out here work would be Facebook:
Jasmine Huang on Facebook

Here’s where you can find me

Check out my YouTube Channel – Liron Yanconsky

Or ask me questions on Instagram – @LironYanIL or Snapchat – @LironYan3

I hope you enjoyed this one. Take care, and we’ll talk again really soon,

– Liron

Plein-air After a Long Break | Liron Yanconsky’s Podcast – Episode 54

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Hi there! Today I wanted to share my experience of painting plein-air after a relatively long break!

Plein-Air Painting

So there’s been about a 1-2 months period when I barely got to paint outside.

If you’ve been following me for a while, you probably know just how important I think plein-air and painting on location is.

In my opinion, it’s a crucial ingredient in turning your paintings from good to amazing. Nothing can beat that spontaneity and full visual perception of being outside, in front of your scene.

After doing it for a while, photos start to feel a little flat and boring.

But Then I Took a Small Break From Plein-Air

So as I mentioned – I took a small break. And the result fascinated me.

In the beginning, I felt a little rusty, as expected. But it’s not like I took a full break from painting. I’ve been actually painting a lot – inside.

So here’s the fascinating part – I could feel just how much sharper my instincts became. I could immediately recognize how my composition was more on point. How better prepared I was to tackle the subject.

Another interesting feeling I had was that of slowing down. I felt like I’m deliberately working slower than usual, and I still maintain the same control (and you know how sometimes with watercolors – you have to be fast!).

Conclusion

So over all this was a big experience for me. It’s something I haven’t had in a while.

I hope you enjoyed reading about it, and perhaps this resonates with you, regarding plein-air, or anything you may have taken a break from.

Let me know in a comment below – did you ever experience something similar?

And now – it’s time for the Artist Corner.

Artist Corner

Today I talked about Andy Evansen.

Andy’s an impressionistic painter based in the US. His style is fairly minimalistic, yet has a strong sense of realism.

He started painting in the mid nineties, and studied under some of the greats, such as Skip Lawrenc, Eric Wiegardt, and my favs – Alvaro Castagnet and Joseph Zbukvic.

Here is his website, where you can see some of his work: http://www.evansenartstudio.com/

And here’s where you can find me

Check out my YouTube Channel – Liron Yanconsky

Or ask me questions on Instagram – @LironYanIL or Snapchat – @LironYan3

I hope you enjoyed this one. Take care, and we’ll talk again really soon,

– Liron

Paint More! Challenging Myself | Liron Yanconsky’s Podcast – Episode 53

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Hi there, Liron here!

Today I wanted to talk to you about a little challenge I have for myself, for the month of December 2018.

Paint More

My challenge is to paint more than I usually do. I would say I average at about 2 hours a day, for 4-5 days a week. I want to increase that to around 4-5 hours a day.

So far it’s been working really well! ^_^

Reasons for Painting More

There are a few really good reasons for me taking this challenge upon myself.

Accelerated improvement – I have experienced a significantly accelerated growth of skills in the past 6-12 months. I feel like I have a really strong momentum that I’d like to capitalize on.

I still learn a lot – I’m still learning so much with each and every painting I do. It keeps surprising me actually.

This is also noticeable when starting to work on a new painting. I always feel like I’m better prepared “this time”. And that’s because I am increasingly more prepared with each and every painting I do.

No Plateau – I haven’t plateaued in my skills in a while now. I honestly don’t remember the last time I felt significantly uninspired / demotivated to paint. Nor do I don’t remember the last time I feared the blank page.

I want to really maximize and capitalize on all of the above, to make the most out of this time period.

My biggest fear, always, is regret. And I don’t even want to give myself the opportunity to regret anything I’m doing now (;

Painting More – Results So Far

So far I’ve been doing decently on the challenge itself, in terms of time spent painting. I’m definitely not at 4-5 hours a day like I wanted to, but it has increased to around 3.

In terms of the process, I feel BRAVER. I’m happy to test my comfort zone and try new things, and I create in a very spontaneous yet immersed way.

I will keep at it and let you know how it goes around the end of the month (and year!!).

And with that being said, let’s move on to the artist corner!

Artist Corner

In this episode I featured Dax, an up and coming rapper.

When I started this podcast I made a decision to feature a large variety of artists, and different types of them. And this is an example of that.

You may or may not know, but I love rap. And this guy is someone I stumbled upon rather recently. I could immediately tell he is very talented, and probably also works hard to create his music.

Just about 1-2 years ago he was a night-time janitor, and now he’s starting to gain some success.

If you don’t like profanities, don’t look into his stuff (as most rap has lots of it). My apologies if that’s the case.

But if you don’t mind, I would definitely check out his songs. My favorite is a remix of a song by Tupac Shakur: Dax – Hit ’em Up

And here’s where you can find me

Check out my YouTube Channel – Liron Yanconsky

Or ask me questions on Instagram – @LironYanIL or Snapchat – @LironYan3

I hope you enjoyed this one. Take care, and we’ll talk again really soon,

– Liron

What Makes Art Good? | Liron Yanconsky’s Podcast – Episode 51

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What makes art good?

Hi there, Liron here – and today I wanted to share my insights after listening to Antrese Wood’s podcast episode with Alvaro Castagnet.

In the podcast (The Savvy Painter) episode, they were talking about what makes art… well – art!

Alvaro shared his perspective on what is important when creating, and what separates good art from rare / great art.

Impressed By Castagnet

First off I want to say how impressed I am with Alvaro’s dedication to ART. He seems to be an artist through and through, and not “just” a painter.

I didn’t know he had such a developed outlook and perspective on this topic.

My Main Takeaways – What Makes Art Good

Here are the points I found important here:

1. Creating with innocence. We know how to make beautiful art, but then we learn and internalize a lot of excessive baggage. Unlearning is the key. Children’s paintings are beautiful and fully authentic.

2. Being present while creating. Something I mentioned here many times in the past.

3. Sensitivity to the world. This is something I’ve been talking about, but never phrased this way. Alvaro is a GENIUS. It’s such a good way to put it. Sensitivity. The ability to see more, where others see nothing.

4. Spontaneity. This is especially true with the wild medium of watercolor. At times you have to be able to be flexible and react to what the paint does.

Vision & Techniques Work Together

The above help you develop a clear vision.

What techniques do is help you execute on that vision. This is why techniques are important, but have their place.

A spectacular vision, imagination and perception, together with mediocre technique – can actually do wonders.

Excellent technique with complete lack of vision may produce boring work that has no soul.

And this is it for today. Would love to hear your thoughts on this in a comment below!

And with that being said… Artist corner!

Artist Corner

Today, I’ve featuring Antrese Wood! I mentioned her podcast and wanted to share more information about her.

She actually has an interesting life story, and art played a very significant role within it. She’s a painter, working mainly in oils and watercolor. From what I’ve seen she focuses on the A-la-prima approach (finishing the painting in one go).

She created a body of work called “A Portrait of Argentina”, which I highly recommend you check out. As someone who visited some of these places – she did a FANTASTIC job.

Antrese’s website: http://antrese.com/

Antrese’s podcast episode with Alvaro Castagnet: https://savvypainter.com/podcast/alvaro-castagnet/

A painting by here that I absolutely LOVE: https://shop.antrese.com/original-art/original_art_products/persistence-pmb4gqkh1da

And here’s where you can find me

Check out my YouTube Channel – Liron Yanconsky

Or ask me questions on Instagram – @LironYanIL or Snapchat – @LironYan3

I hope you enjoyed this one. Take care, and we’ll talk again really soon,

– Liron

Scared of Getting Started? Listen to THIS | Liron Yanconsky’s Podcast – Episode 46

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Hi there, Liron here!

A couple of months ago, I slowly came to realize just how many people aren’t starting to do what they like because they are scared.

They are scared of other peoples’ judgement of them and their art.

A lot of people have been hitting me up with message regarding being too scared to paint outside, and having other people see them do that and comment.

A Video From my Business Monday Series

A while back I posted a video on my YouTube channel, about this exact topic. I want  to share that with you today (:

The Fear Goes Away

This is my main point here. The fear goes away by doing and getting  yourself accustomed to doing.

And here’s the punchline – it goes away much faster than you think.

I felt a little uncomfortable the first 3 times I painted outside – and then nothing. It all went away.

Same for filming myself. That fear was even more accentuated. And sure enough, after 3-4 times of doing it – it went away.

Live Your Life by Your Own Opinions and Rules

Letting others dictate what you can  and can’t do is a recipe for a bad life. If you want to paint – DO IT.

If  you want to paint outside – DO IT.

The fear will subside much faster than you think.

Artist Corner

Today I talked about Konstantin Sterkhov. He is a Russian watercolor and oils painter.

I didn’t like his oils as much, but his watercolors – AMAZING. Very realistic, yet characterized by very simple color schemes.

You can check out his work here: SterkhovArt.com

And here’s where you can find me

Check out my YouTube Channel – Liron Yanconsky

Or ask me questions on Instagram – @LironYanIL or Snapchat – @LironYan3

I hope you enjoyed this one. Take care, and we’ll talk again really soon,

– Liron